Katrina places the white chrysanthemums in front of a steel-grey tombstone, then sits cross-legged on the ground and opens up the wine to chat with her long-dead father."Dad, I"ve come to visit you. I brought your favorite drink. You must be thirsty, and I haven"t visited you for so long. I"ll pour it for you."
Katrina slowly pours the wine into a gla.s.s, holding it in both hands and sprinkling it evenly over the grave.
"Dad, don"t worry about me. I"m fine. Uncle Anderson is very kind to me. Actually, she mentioned you last night. He said that he particularly missed drinking with you in the old days."
A thought occurs to Katrina. "Dad, how come I never heard you mention that you such good friends with Uncle Anderson?"
Before her father pa.s.sed away, she can"t remember her father having a friend named Carl Anderson. When she was in the orphanage, Carl suddenly appeared to adopt her, claiming to be her father"s friend.
But when she thinks about it…
Carl Anderson is a businessman who works hard every day and has many dinner parties to attend. Because of his busy career, his relations.h.i.+p with her father was probably not that close.
Katrina doesn"t think too much about it. She continues to chat with her father. "Dad, Uncle Anderson is really nice. He hasn"t seen you for so many years, but he still remembers you. He"s very kind."
She pours a second gla.s.s of wine and respectfully sprinkles it onto the gravestone again.
This is what Katrina does when she visits her father. She sits in front of the grave and talks to herself.
After all, her father was her only family in the world. It"s only with him that she can speak her thoughts freely.
She shares her happiness with her father because she feels that he will be happy for her. Speaking out her grievances to the tombstone is her way of venting out her frustrations. If her father could hear her in heaven, he would comfort her with the patience he had when she was a child.
Time pa.s.ses by in a flash. It"s been two hours since Katrina sat in front of her father"s gravestone. Katrina rubs her numb legs and stands up from the ground.
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"Dad, I"m leaving now. I"ll come back to see you when I have time."
After leaving her father"s tombstone, Katrina meets the old man sitting in the shade outside his old cottage and sipping tea.
As Katrina walks by, she politely says, "I"m leaving."
The man has experienced everything. He looks at Katrina with the old and tired eyes. "I"ll be retiring in three months."
He has been the caretaker of the cemetery for twenty years. He"s getting older and is beginning to feel the strain of the work.
Hearing his words, Katrina looks sad. "Sir, you have worked so hard for so many years. It"s time for you to enjoy your retirement."
Although she is shocked to hear that he will stop working here all of a sudden, Katrina thinks that retirement would be a good thing for him, given his age and health.
"Young lady, although we are not related, I"ve watched you grow up these past ten years. I"m a little worried about what will happen to you after I retire. When you have someone who loves you and takes care of you, I will be rea.s.sured."
Over the years, Katrina has only been the only person to visit the cemetery on her own.
Noticing this, he feels very sad.
A tender weak little girl has to bear so many things by herself.
He worries that the next time she visits after his retirement, she will be afraid of visiting the cemetery on her own.
In his heart, he constantly hopes that Katrina can find a boyfriend who will always accompany her.
But today, Katrina still came alone. She still doesn"t have a man who takes care of her.
Katrina feels warmly moved by his words. The old man is thinking of her before he retires. In the end, Katrina lies to him to rea.s.sure him.
"Thank you, sir. Actually, I just got a boyfriend, but he is busy with work. I didn"t want to affect his work, so I didn"t ask him to accompany me."
As Katrina explains, the man"s wrinkled face bursts into a smile. "Really? Next time, introduce him to me."
After witnessing Katrina"s growth over the years, he also wants to see what kind of boyfriend she has.
Besides, he is almost seventy. After encountering so many different people, he would have better taste than her. He wants to help her and protect her. He wants to see if the man is worthy of her.
Katrina"s face also blossoms into a smile. "All right. I"ll bring him with me next time."
It feels good to make plans to meet again.
The next time she sees him will probably be the last time she will ever see him. The old man will go back to his hometown to retire while she continues to work in Abbe. From then on, their lives will no longer intersect until the day he dies.
At the thought, Katrina realizes how short life really is.
Each farewell is likely to be the last.
Like fourteen years ago…
That morning, her father took her to school on a bicycle. He told her to walk slowly and to be careful not to fall when he bid her goodbye.
But when she left school in the afternoon, her father was gone forever.
No matter how great life is, it"s no match for the vagaries of the world.
Whenever she thinks of memories of the past, Katrina unconsciously feels a sense of loss.
But she soon adjusts herself.
She can"t always feel sad and lost every time she visits her father.
By the time Katrina gets home, it"s already late afternoon.
The red and swollen mark on her face is still very obvious. Even if she uses her long hair to cover it up, the bruise is still visible.
Being such an observant gentleman, Marcellus can definitely tell at a glance that something bad happened to her.
Although Katrina is angry with Sophie for what she did, she doesn"t want Marcellus to know.
Even though Katrina behaved strongly in front of Sophie earlier today, she is still a kind person.
Sophie and Marcellus have known each other for years. Katrina doesn"t want to ruin their relations.h.i.+p. If Marcellus finds out that Sophie hit her, he will definitely hold a grudge against Sophie.
Katrina has always been open and honest. She never liked besmirching someone behind their back. She deals with problems by repaying evil with good.
Though she agreed to have dinner with Marcellus tonight, she"ll have to stand him up again.
Katrina feels troubled by the thought.
What excuse could she use to turn him down this time?